Considering getting back into Pre-War...

[x2drich2000]

What do you like? Are you a set collector? Single players? Favorite Player? Favorite decade? B&W or Color? What kind of budget? Do you like the hunt or just want to buy whenever you have money? Standard size or oversized cards?
There are tons of options and no one can really give you a good recommendation without knowing what appeals to you. Personally, I'm a big fan of the E92 family of sets. A bit tougher than T206, but still manageable to complete a set and enough variations if you want to keep things interesting.

[garymc]

T206's appear to me to be slowing going up in price ? I think a better option would be T205's of T202's , you still can get decent grades (G-VG) without getting yourself in trouble.......




https://www.flickr.com/photos/151843924@N04/albums

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

Originally Posted by garymc

T206's appear to me to be slowing going up in price ? I think a better option would be T205's of T202's , you still can get decent grades (G-VG) without getting yourself in trouble.......




https://www.flickr.com/photos/151843924@N04/albums

Gary, also not a prewar collector and have never considered myself a G-VG collector, but those T205s of yours looked good!

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by garymc

... I think a better option would be T205's of T202's , you still can get decent grades (G-VG) without getting yourself in trouble.......

https://www.flickr.com/photos/151843924@N04/albums

A few hours here and there looking online over the last two days, and I will agree with you. It used to be you could get a VG range T-206 HOFer (not a name like Cobb or Johnson) for a couple hundred bucks. Those days are gone apparently, even poor and destroyed looking cards of the big boys seem to command major bills today so long as they are slabbed.

Another option may be doing the team collecting thing in pre-war. For my Cubs, 3-Finger Brown seems among the most expensive in the tobacco era, of course along with the poem boys, Tinker to Evers to Chance. But for T-205 they may still be do-able in lesser grade. I'll have to keep looking.

Just price-range wise - I'd say I spend $50 on a card several times a year, and spending more than $100 is a rare event. Just here lately I have spent well more than that on several postwar cards - I won't get into the details but those were pretty much one-off situations - the metrics around which I don't expect to occur again often.

[x2drich2000]

I'd recommend spending a good amount of time running through oldcardboard.com. They have a number of oddball type sets and most of the sets listed have a checklist and at least 1 card listed to give you an idea of what they look like. The estimated value also generally isn't too far off to give you an idea of cost.

[jchcollins]

Thanks again guys for the responses.

[steve B]

It also depends on how quickly you like to collect.


I'm mostly an opportunistic collector. I like most cards, don't worry too much about condition, and realized years ago that even a really good type set was out of reach.

If you don't mind the collecting taking a LONG time, that can be a good way to go. Look around at HOF cards, and make a list of the ones you like the look of. Most sets have some really nice ones, and a few that just aren't all that nice. Seems a shame to pass up say a Diamond Stars that looks great because you're focused on Goudey.
Once you have a bit of a list of ones you like, just start hunting them until the "right " deal comes up. Maybe a card with really nice centering and image, but with back damage so it's cheap. Maybe an un graded card that's in bad shape that slides past most people. You'll know when you see it.

[jasonc]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

Another option may be doing the team collecting thing in pre-war. For my Cubs, 3-Finger Brown seems among the most expensive in the tobacco era, of course along with the poem boys, Tinker to Evers to Chance. But for T-205 they may still be do-able in lesser grade. I'll have to keep looking.

That is actually a good idea IMO. As long as you don't go for the Pirates, A's etc.

If it's the Cubs that wouldn't be too bad, and you could always go for low grade. There's T205, T206, T207, E90 etc. Cracker Jack could get expensive, but it's your collection, you can get the Cubs from whatever set you want.

Good Luck whatever you decide.

[Rhotchkiss]

I don’t know what T or E set will allow you to get major hall of famers in any condition under $100. Unfortunately, I think that ship has sailed. T206, t205 and e90-1, provide the most opportunity for diversity, as they are the largest issues and have the most players. Most E90-1 and t205s tend to be cheaper than their t206 counterparts. But honestly, I am unaware of a proverbial bargain bin for T and E HOF.

[DeanH3]

I'd take a look at M116 Sporting Life set. It's kinda a love or hate set but most HOF'ers are pretty reasonable.

[CW]

T205 Frank Baker.

A nice colorful Obak in mid grade (5 or better).

A T216 HOFer in good shape.

Good luck!

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by x2drich2000

What do you like? Are you a set collector? Single players? Favorite Player? Favorite decade? B&W or Color? What kind of budget? Do you like the hunt or just want to buy whenever you have money? Standard size or oversized cards?
There are tons of options and no one can really give you a good recommendation without knowing what appeals to you. Personally, I'm a big fan of the E92 family of sets. A bit tougher than T206, but still manageable to complete a set and enough variations if you want to keep things interesting.

That's the problem...definitely not a set collector - my theme more or less for the past 3 decades has been 50's and 60's HOFers. I don't like the hunt so much, normally just buy when I have the money at my disposal. Doing the big names pre-war is likely going to be a slow exercise in frustration for me; this is why I have always abandoned pre-war before. I would occasionally spend big money on a card, then later realize how futile the effort would be to get any sizeable number more. I think that a type-set or doing examples of different players from different sets may be the one thing I could get into and not break the bank. But still not sure if it is a dive I want to take.

[clydepepper]

Game Cards are a good way to get big stars for affordable prices.

1913 National Game and 1914 Polo Grounds Game have been two of my favorites, but there are others older.

Here are a few examples:

1913 National Game Grover Alexander PSA-9.jpgAttachment 3359271914 POLO GROUNDS GAME - CHRISTY MATHEWSON PSA-10.jpg1923 WG7 Walter Mails Game Walter Johnson SGC 80.jpg